May. 26, 2010 - Issue #762: Timeland
News Roundup
Hangers for choice
Last month, International Co-operation Minister Bev Oda confirmed the federal government would not fund abortion as part of its G8 child and maternal health care initiative for developing countries. The position, applauded by anti-choice groups, has been rebuked by international aid organizations and feminists here and abroad. Outraged at the federal government's position, an Edmonton woman has started a campaign that she hopes will gain national attention and put pressure on the government to reverse its decision.
Andrea Waywanko, who has been active in the pro-choice movement since the early 1970s, designed a postcard for people to send to the Prime Minister. The card reads, "I agree that all women of the world must have full reproductive choice, including access to safe, medically supervised abortion in consultation with their doctor. Women have the full right to control their bodies and lives. In the upcoming G8, G20 summits, I demand that you represent the views of the vast majority of Canadian citizens who insist that all aspects of maternal health, including termination of pregnancy, be funded by our governments."
Waywanko approached the Edmonton local of the Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) to make a donation to help defray printing costs and says many local feminists (men and women alike) have expressed support. Asked what prompted her to take this project on, Waywanko said simply, "All women of the world should have control of their bodies."
She hopes to see the campaign force a change in Canada's position at the upcoming G8, G20 summits. "It would be nice to bring Canada in line with the progressive nations who fund all aspects of women's reproductive freedom, including access to medically supervised, safe abortions," she said.
The G8, G20 summits will be held in Huntsville, Ontario June 25 – 27.
More stories in front »
vueweekly.com comments: powered by DisqusPrivacy Policy:
Vue respects your privacy. We will not forward your personal information to any other organization except as required by law, and will use your e-mail address only to respond to your comments. We reserve the right to edit and remove comments for length, clarity and/or if they are illegal or inappropriate. Your email address is never shown to visitors to vueweekly.com. Read the whole policy at: http://vueweekly.com/privacy
Comments policy
Comments go online directly without first being seen or reviewed by editors at Vue. Don't personally attack people, don't be defamatory, don't be spam-atory, don't hawk your band, don't pretend to be someone else, be clear, be on topic, be nice. Read our extended comments policy here. »
We use Disqus for our comments system. What's that all about?
We found that managing the comment community at Vue was easier to do with a system like Disqus. If this isn't straightforward to you, get help here.